Genting and Royal Caribbean announce Hong Kong cruises to nowhere

Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean have confirmed they are planning to sail cruises to nowhere from Hong Kong after roundtrip itineraries without any port calls were approved by the local government.

Royal Caribbean will homeport Spectrum of the Seas in the city, while Dream Cruises, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong, will operate the voyages with its ship Genting Dream. Both cruise lines will sail two and three-night cruises from July 30th onwards.

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Royal Caribbean had initially scheduled Ovation of the Seas for turnaround operations at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, but switched her with Spectrum of the Seas as Ovation is due to cruise in Alaska this summer.

Both vessels are sister ships within Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class, but Spectrum is a slight step up for Hong Kong as she is designated as a Quantum Ultra-class ship, with a slightly larger gross tonnage and more amenities.

Genting Dream is a similar size to Spectrum of the Seas, but features fewer bells and whistles and was designed exclusively for the Asian cruise market targeted by Dream Cruises.

Interestingly, the ship has a similar design to the Quanutum class and was built at the same shipyard.

Genting Dream will cruise roundtrip from Hong Kong to nowhere, spending two to three nights at sea before returning to the city. The two-night cruises will depart every Friday from July 30th, while the three-night itineraries will depart every Sunday and Wednesday.

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Under Hong Kong’s current COVID-19 safety regulations the ships can only operate at a maximum of 50% capacity and all guests over the age of 16 will need to be vaccinated, mirroring similar regulations in place in Europe and the UK where cruises have already resumed.

“Like all Hong Kong residents, we have been eagerly looking forward to more vacation alternatives during this period when overseas travel is not permitted,” said Kent Zhu, President of Genting.

“With Hong Kong a historically key homeport and with our unique position as a home grown cruise company based in Asia, we will mobilize our resources across the region to bring Genting Dream into Hong Kong by June,” he added.

Dream Cruises and Royal Caribbean have already resumed cruises to nowhere out of Singapore with Quantum of the Seas and World Dream, while Dream Cruises is also sailing cruises from Taiwan aboard Explorer Dream.